What If? Performance Art Weekend

Fri 19th May - Sat 20th May7:00 pm - 11:30 pm

Townhall Cavan Arts Space will bring colour, art, and imagination to the streets of Cavan this month with its ‘What If?’ Performance Art Weekend, running from 19 – 20 May.

Featuring performance artists from Belfast, and Dublin, as well as local talent, and the cutting-edge Gonzo Theatre Company, ‘What If?’ will re–imagine the way we look, sense and experience the world and our environment, transforming the streets of Cavan Town and Townhall Cavan Arts Space into a haven of possibility.

Among the artists participating are Christoff Gillen, Áine Phillips, Sinéad O’Donnell, Sally O’Dowd and Hugh O’Donnell, while Laura O’Connor will take part in a live Skype performance from a yet-to-be-announced international venue.

The event is curated by artist curators Siobhan Harton and Joe Keenan, and theatre director Philip Doherty, who explain that one of the driving forces behind the festival is to bring art to the streets, and specifically to people who may not normally interact with the arts.

“Some people may not feel comfortable crossing the threshold of an arts space. By bringing art to the streets people can see for themselves that art is just there to be enjoyed; you can engage with it or not, it’s entirely up to you,” says Joe.

The Weekend also marks the return of the Gonzo Theatre with its new performance, ‘Night One: Red’ opening the festival on Friday, 19 May, and continuing on 20 May. Writer/Director Philip Doherty has created an exciting, innovative new theatre experience, all inspired by the colour red.

Almost completely dialogue-free, ‘Night One: Red’ will be an exhilarating performance spectacle that will look at the colour red, its myriad meanings, and what it does to people.

Challenging himself to create “a beautiful mess”, Doherty and cast, along with filmmaker Darren Kelly and composer Peter Denton, will play with notions of time and space to push the boundaries of theatre.

“The colour red can mean anything: fury, embarrassment, blood, love, danger. So I want to play with that, and create a visual feast, something that excites me and will blow the spectators’ minds,” explains Philip.

The ‘What If?’ Performance Art Weekend is being funded by Cavan County Council and the Creative Ireland Programme. For more information, and full programme of events, follow Townhall Cavan on Twitter or Facebook, visit www.townhallcavan.ie, or email townhallcavan@gmail.com.